


Better Left Unsolved

by CommanderCryptic



Series: The World's Misadventures: 2020 edition [2]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: 2020, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, Humor, monolith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:35:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28101024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CommanderCryptic/pseuds/CommanderCryptic
Summary: It's 2020, and mysterious monoliths have been popping up all over the place. Namely, in the U.S, the U.K, the Netherlands, Romania, and Poland.So, naturally, America decided to check the mystery out for himself, dragging Britain along with him.
Series: The World's Misadventures: 2020 edition [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2060109
Kudos: 11





	Better Left Unsolved

**Author's Note:**

> I just decided to write this short little modern-day universe fic for fun. I'd assume this takes place shortly after Swing! (another one of my fics about the 2020 U.S. presidential elections.)  
> Hope you enjoy it!

“Aliens. It’s gotta be aliens,” Alfred declared. “That’s the only possible explanation.”

Arthur looked at Alfred for a good 10 seconds before finally responding. 

“You,” Arthur said, “Are an idiot.” 

Alfred narrowed his eyebrows and pouted, his arms crossed indignantly. “No way! What I’m saying makes total sense! _You’re_ just being obnoxious.” 

Arthur raised both eyebrows incredulously and pointed to himself. “ _I’m_ the obnoxious one? Have you ever _met_ yourself?”

“If you _aren’t_ obnoxious, then explain why I wanted to get my independence from you so badly!” Alfred demanded. “Did the entire Revolution just never happen, in your eyes? Or, maybe…” He smirked. “ _You’re_ still upset that we kicked your ass in Yorktown.”

“If anyone was doing the ass-kicking, it was _us_!” countered Arthur. “You twats just got lucky, that’s all.”

“Yeah, _sure._ Whatever helps you sleep at night, old man.” 

“Hey! I’m not _that_ old!” 

Alfred opened his mouth to speak, ready to launch another insult to continue the back-and-forth. However, whatever he was going to say was interrupted by his cellphone’s blaring ringtone, which just so happened to be the national anthem. 

“America! Just answer it, already! Your Star-Spangled Disaster is going to make my ears bleed!” Arthur warned. Apparently, it wasn’t just his ears that were bleeding. A trail of red trickled from his mouth, which wasn’t necessarily an uncommon sight when America’s independence was the topic of discussion. 

“ _Banner_ ,” Alfred corrected. “Star-Spangled _banner_.” 

Arthur rolled his eyes and snatched the phone from Alfred. “Call it whatever you like, it’ll still be just as aggravating.” He pressed the green ‘accept call’ button displayed on the phone’s screen, not bothering to check the caller ID. 

“Hello?” 

Alfred watched as Arthur’s expression slowly grew more and more confused. 

“W-what? Who even is this?” Arthur asked, the phone still pressed to his ear. “No, why would I be in Utah? Is this a prank call?” 

Alfred sighed in exasperation and retrieved his phone from Arthur, setting the device on speaker mode. “Who’s this?”

“Ah, Alfred, there you are! It’s Romania,” the person on the other end of the phone replied. “There’s something kind of weird going on, and I thought you might know something about it.” 

Alfred chuckled. “It’s 2020, there’s _always_ something weird going on.” He adjusted his glasses, which had been sliding down the bridge of his nose. The sun practically fried his retinas, but it was nothing he wasn’t used to. Although the California sunlight did take some time to adjust to, Alfred had adapted to it relatively well. 

Unlike Arthur, whose pale skin looked like it was about to turn lobster red in mere seconds. 

“Good point,” Romania remarked with a small laugh. “Seriously, though. This is, like, kind of freaky. I asked Bulgaria but he had no clue what I was talking about.”

“And?” Alfred said, prompting the other man to elaborate. 

“The point is, I think we really have to figure out who’s behind it before our citizens start coming up with these crazy conspiracy theories,” explained Romania. 

Alfred bit his lip and looked to the ground sheepishly. “Haha, right. Those theorists are _insane,_ dude! Like, come on, who _actually_ believes in aliens and all that crap?”

Arthur rolled his eyes for the second time. “ _Hypocrite_ ,” he mouthed. 

Alfred ignored the jab and continued with the conversation. “Y’know, you never even told me what you were really talking about.” 

“Oh, sorry about that,” Romania apologized quickly. “It’s about those monoliths.”

Alfred finally put two-and-two together. “Oh! Right, those! It’s actually a coincidence that you bring that up, because—” 

The tall, sleek, metal structured glistened in the sun’s rays. Its metal surface was smooth and reflective, showing Alfred’s slightly distorted reflection. The strange object was, without a doubt, a monolith.

Alfred had been intrigued right from the beginning. When the first monolith was reported in Utah, his fascination sparked. More and more monoliths were reported, with two of them also being within his territory: Pine Mountain, California, and Colorado. Naturally, Alfred _had_ to take a look for himself. With the stressful election being over, he didn't have much else on his plate. 

He brought company, too. Arthur had revealed the presence of a monolith on the Isle of Wight in the UK, which had roped him into Alfred’s little adventures. 

“—I’m at one of the monolith sites, right now,” Alfred finished. 

“Really? Wait, is Britain with you?” Romania asked. 

Alfred’s eyes widened in surprise. “Whoa! How did you know that?” 

Arthur resisted the urge to facepalm. “It’s because I was the one who _answered_ the phone, you asshat!” 

“Oops. May have forgotten about that,” Alfred said flippantly. “But, yeah, the Limey’s here, too.” Too worn-out by Alfred’s antics, Arthur didn’t even bother to make a comment on the teasing nickname. 

“That’s perfect!” Romania cheered. “Because I’m going to need you both to catch the first flight to Amsterdam.” 

Alfred’s jaw dropped, his mind still in the middle of processing what he just heard. “What? Amsterdam? Why?” 

Now, Arthur was interested. He had finally invested himself in the conversation. “I’m curious, as well. What purpose would that serve?”

“Well, I heard from Hungary, who heard from Prussia, who heard from Spain, who heard from Belgium, that there’s been a monolith sighting in the Netherlands, too.”

Now it was Arthur’s turn to be startled. “The Netherlands?”

“Mhmm. Near Oudehorne village, to be precise,” confirmed Romania. 

“You— you must be jesting,” Arthur insisted. “There are _more_?”

“No, I’m not. If you need more proof, then....” There were a few seconds of silence on the other end of the line until someone finally said something. 

“He’s telling the truth,” said a deeper voice. “I can confirm.”

Alfred immediately recognized the voice as belonging to a certain Dutch man with sharp negotiating skills and no tolerance for indiscretion. 

“Wait— you guys are in the same room?” Alfred wondered aloud. 

“Yes. Poland, too,” The Netherlands added. 

Alfred vaguely recalled reading something in an article about a monolith being discovered in Warsaw. Suddenly, he felt foolish. 

_How did I forget that?_

Although, it wasn’t out of the ordinary for some things to simply go over Alfred’s head. So, he chose not to dwell on it for too long. 

“Aw, sweet! Does that make us the monolith gang?” Alfred found himself childish enough to ask. 

“Oh, yeah, totally!” chimed in another voice, which was almost certainly Poland’s. “Mine’s enormous!” 

“I’m sure Lithuania would be able to fact-check that one,” Romania remarked devilishly. 

An embarrassed, girly-sounding shriek pierced through Alfred and Arthur’s ears, followed up by a fit of snarky laughter. 

“I know, I know!” admitted Romania between giggles. “You were talking about the monolith!” 

Even though he wasn’t actively participating in that conversation, Arthur averted his eyes and became visibly flustered. 

“Aw, are you embarrassed?” asked Alfred teasingly. “It’s just a joke, old man! Don’t be a prude.” 

“Good god, how many times do I have to say this? I’m not an old—”

“Ignore all that,” interrupted the Netherlands. Romania and Poland’s quarrel grew quieter as the Netherlands promptly left the room, opting to continue the conversation in the hallway. 

“Glady,” mumbled Arthur under his breath. 

“So, uh, about your previous proposal…” Alfred said. “Getting from here to Amsterdam isn’t exactly the easiest thing. Especially right now.”

“Incredible. This is the first time you’ve actually made a rational point,” Arthur retorted sarcastically. 

“Dude, you _know_ that’s not—”

“Keep the unnecessary banter to a minimum,” the Netherlands advised. “Time is money, and frankly, I’m not willing to waste any of either.”

“In that case, do continue,” said Arthur quickly. “I don’t know about _him_ …” He cast a glare at Alfred. “But I share the same sentiment.” 

“Alright. To put it simply, you have no choice about the matter,” the Netherlands explained calmly. “America, I know your political climate is tense, currently. In the midst of this eventful year, the least we can do is try to take care of what we can. If there’s something sinister about these monoliths that we aren’t catching on to, it’s imperative that we look into it further.”

“Wow. That’s the most number of words I’ve ever heard him say at once,” Alfred noted. 

“You bloody idiot!” Arthur scowled. “There’s something called _reading the mood_.” He crossed his arms over his chest, somehow trying to make the gesture look as dignified as possible. “Perhaps you should learn how to do it, better.” 

Alfred stared at Arthur for a few seconds with a deadpan expression on his face. 

“That’s what she said.” 

“Did you just—”

“And, Netherlands, here’s my response to your proposal,” Alfred said, not bothering to respond to Arthur. “I’d have to pass on this one. I don’t know about Britain, but…” He smiled to himself self-assuredly. “When it comes to _my_ monoliths, I think it’s better to just leave the mystery unsolved.”


End file.
